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Newsletter :: September 2005

Sep 01, 2005 Posted by: Ronda Polanksy Newsletters

 

Monthly motivator

Success

You are truly successful when you can look back in forgiveness, forward in hope, and up with gratitude!

 

Conference Thank you to all who attended the DFW – DSI conference in August! What a great turn out, we hope everyone had a good time, we did! The written comments were great!

 

Upcoming September 2005 conferences – probably the last ones this year due to upcoming holidays

1. MBSS Workshop – Houston, Texas September 10th. 8:30- 5pm. Presented by: Ronda Polansky M.S. CCC-SLP, Pam Ragland M.S. CCC-SLP, and Charlotte Rice M.S. CCC-SLP. For more information call Professional Imaging at 1-866-675-MBSS. This conference is just as it is titled! If you want more education on doing MBSS, this conference is for you! Make your reservations now!

2. DFW ASHA – Bedside Evaluations, September 20th, 7pm-9pm. Presented by: Ronda Polansky M.S. CCC-SLP. Barton Elementary Irving, TX. Contact Kathy Sowell, President – 817-572-1477 or Peggy Werner, Vice President-817-656-4911. It’s $40.00 for all 4 meetings or $17.00 for just one at a time. Just show up and pay. No pre-registration needed.

3. Deciphering Dysphagia with E-Stim – Oklahoma City, OK. This has been delayed until 2006. We have several planned for next year!

 

FYI – For future reference – TSHA is an ASHA approved provider of CEU’s. So anytime you see TSHA CEU’s they can be used towards your licensure and are ASHA approved credits.

 

Do not believe everything you hear!

Thank you for all of your calls and keeping us informed verbally and in writing on what is being said! Let us get some facts straight!

  1. We do not bill facilities for Secure Horizons patients unless requested by the facility. Otherwise we bill Secure Horizons directly with a preauthorization number! No cost to the facility! We do not and have never billed travel fees/trip charge. Please call and ask us about the things you hear and do not take the information as fact until speaking to someone at DiagnosTEX directly.
  2. We have 2 mobile clinics running DFW 5 days week, 3 mobile clinics running 2-3 days a week and we work Saturday for special requests. 24 to 48 hour service with DiagnosTEX!
  3. We are one of the lowest cost MBSS service in DFW.

SLP and Admin references, which have used other services besides DiagnosTEX, are available on request! Make sure your Administrator is aware of the untrue statements being presented to you. If any one has any questions regarding our service, fees, or billing practices do not hesitate to call us at 1- 888-514-6271. We are just a short phone call away!

 

A successful man is one who can build a foundation with the bricks that others throw at him!

David Brinkley, CBS news

 

Medicare Manual Revisions – effective June 6, 2005

  1. A Physician order or referral is no longer required before a rehab professional commences treatment. Furthermore, an order or referral need not be documented in the medical record as long as a physician approves the POC. POC must be approved within the first 30 days.
  2. Physician visits are no longer required at minimal intervals; and are not at the discretion of the attending physician.
  3. Dysphagia services – practioners who perform dysphagia services are expected to have specific competencies in upper aerodigestive tract structure and function as well as oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, and respiratory function.

 

E -Stim question

My patient is so sensitive to the E-Stim sensation, any suggestions? Lower the pulse width to 50 and then try to increased intensity.

 

Dysphagia Tidbit – Free Water Protocol – Be cautious if recommending this protocol in a Nursing Home setting. The safety of allowing patients who aspirate thin liquids to drink water has long been, and will likely continue to be debated. Currently there is not published research that will give dysphagia clinicians a definitive scientific basis for the safe delivery of water to patients with dysphagia. (Panther, 2005) Pathogens are in Tap water. Tap water and well water can be contaminated by bacteria in some locales. Pathogens include Cryptosporidium, Eschericha coli, Giardia, and cyclospora which can cause public health problems especially in infants, the elderly, and individuals who are immuneocompromised (Whitmire, 2000) An obvious source of pathogens is the mouth itself, as any liquid or solid that is aspirated must pass through the oral cavity and may be contaminated by pathogenic bacteria in colonized oropharyngeal secretions. Aspiration of secretions can lead to pulmonary infection. Aspiration of water would carry the same risk of delivering these pathogens to the pulmonary system. (Panther, 2005) Clinicians who decide to pursue allowing patients who aspirate thin liquids to drink water should be aware of the risks and be prepared to make informed recommendations. At a minimum, the clinician should be sure that the water source is safe. (Panther, 2005) Teamwork and communication are key to success in treating dysphagia.

Kathy Panther is currently the inpatient rehab director at Frazier Rehab Institute and Jewish Hospital in Louisville, KY

Panther, K., The Frazier Free Water Protocol, Perspectives on Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. 4-8, March 2005.